Banjo Kazooie: Techno Trouble
by Cerrin
Summary: Turning the tables on L.O.G., Gruntilda is out for one last shot at revenge against Banjo and Kazooie. Using her Gruntbots to rebuild her old lair, what lies in store for our heroes in their new adventure?
1. Prologue

**Since "Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts" generally was regarded as a step in the wrong direction to many fans of the series, I wanted to create a storyline that I feel may have been a step in the _right_ direction. If another game is added to the series let's hope they go back to the roots with more of what made the previous titles so lovable. This story is mean to take place after the ending of "Nuts & Bolts". Should go without saying, but I don't own any characters used throughout here/from here on unless otherwise stated.  
**

* * *

Prologue

The duo known as Banjo and Kazooie had been through many adventures together, each leading up to a showdown between them and their greatest enemy, the evil witch Gruntilda.

They had faced off many a time in the past, with their most recent battle ending in yet another victory for them. Having completed the Lord of Games' (L.O.G.'s) challenge, they had been rewarded with all of their previous talents and moves from their previous adventures.

As the loser, Gruntilda was sentenced to an eternity working in L.O.G'S videogame factory. Being little more than a skull inside a robot body after so many defeats, she vowed revenge in the form of creating her own videogame.

A year had passed and peace once again fell over Spiral Mountain. Banjo and Kazooie, not wanting to have a repeat of the eight years that had passed before, had set up their own training ground to help them stay in shape.

Jamjars more than agreed to be their trainer (in fact, he insisted on it.) Some days Kazooie would run laps around Spiral Mountain using the Turbo Trainer Running Shoes, other days she would scale the various rocky walls using the Claw Clamber Boots. Banjo would run up and down the spiral hill in the center, carrying multiple heavy objects in his backpack, as well as swim against the current of the waterfalls.

Gruntilda was going along with L.O.G.'s demands during the year, toiling in his game factory. However, whenever she got the chance she would secretly steal parts of this and that and hide them away.

During times when she went unsupervised she would work on her own side projects. These projects consumed her time and energy, and she abandoned her previous threat of creating her own game.

Piddles, her evil little purple cat of a sidekick, would sit on her shoulder and watch curiously. Despite being the creator of all games, L.O.G. seemed to be oblivious to what the witch was up to over the course of the year.

On a day like any other, Gruntilda loaded up her various gadgets and tools and set out to find L.O.G. Attached to her wrist was a steam-punk style gauntlet with a blue diode in the center. She clenched her fist and opened it again, looking at her palm. Piddles circled around her slowly.

"Mrrr…" she purred. "Whatever you're planning is going to fail. It's what you're best at, Winkybunion." Gruntilda rolled her eyes at the name.

"Listen you, Grunty's still out for fame. Bear, bird and L.O.G. will fear my name!" she hissed. "Sticking me here was very wrong. I'll have my revenge, it won't be long..." With that she dashed out of her work area, determined to put her plan into action. Having nothing better to do, Piddles tagged along behind her; after all, she could always use a good laugh.


	2. Grunty's Grudge

Grunty's Grudge

Tinkering with a few things, L.O.G wandered around his factory making sure everything was in working order.

"I wonder how that washed up witch is doing," he thought. "I should probably check. Not that she could cause trouble, I just don't want her shirking her duties." As he turned around to make his way to where he believed her to be, he found himself instead staring her in the face. With her arms crossed she gave a small cackle.

"Surprised to see me Mr. L.O.G.? Running here was quite the jog." She gave a bit of a sigh and put her hands on her hips.

"Before I'm accused of any guile, I've got something to make you smile." Gruntilda held up her hand with the gauntlet, the center glowed a soft blue. L.O.G. seemed unimpressed.

"What is this supposed to be? Some kind of motion sensor game controller? It looks okay I guess," he scoffed. "Seems a bit retro though. I believe Nintendo released the Power Glove a rather long time ago, what makes this so special?"

Gruntilda held out her palm. "If you're unsure, just let me show; its true power you soon shall know!"

A stream of blue light shot out from the center and onto L.O.G.'s monitor of a face. He gave an annoyed look.

"I don't understand what you're trying to do here, witch. I suggest you stop wasting my time and cut to the chase."

Squinting her eyes, Gruntilda held it closer. "All it needs is a bit more power," she said, grinning. "This will be my finest hour!"

She turned a few knobs and the light intensified. After a moment, L.O.G.'s head began to vibrate.

"W-W-What is t-t-this nons-s-sense?" he managed as he tried to back away. The witch held him in place with her other hand, cackling.

"You all counted Grunty out, I'll show you what she's all about!" At this she forced her palm, light and all, directly into the screen. A bright flash engulfed the room with a loud thud ringing out.

Gruntilda lowered her hands, looking down at the floor. L.O.G. lay unmoving, his face showing nothing but static.

Piddles hopped up onto her head, overseeing what her partner had done.

"My oh my. Someone's been naughty," she cooed softly. "Maybe you're not completely useless after all."

Gruntilda half swatted at the cat. "That's out of the way, with relative ease. Who knew it would be such a breeze?"

"In other words you got lucky," Piddles said while curling up on her perch. Gruntilda growled.

"That was just the first step, cat. I'll need more help, I'll bet on that." She pulled out a large wrench and gripped it in her hands. "Step two is to rebuild my minions."

Piddles rolled her eyes and groaned her disapproval.

"I didn't ask for your opinions!" Gruntilda said as shook off the purple annoyance. Clinging to her back, Piddles yawned. Whatever Grunty was up to, she was sure it was bound to involve work; something she liked to do as little of as possible.

Gruntilda grabbed some miscellaneous parts and began to assemble them into her first Gruntbot. With the lord of games out of the picture, she knew exactly what she intended on doing. As soon as she finished with the task at hand, she would pay a little visit to her old home.

It was time for a little renovating.


	3. Just Another Day in Paradise

Just Another Day in Paradise

"Alright, that's enough punks!" Jamjars called out from the bridge over the river. Banjo and Kazooie had been swimming against the current of the waterfall for a good fifteen minutes.

They let the current carry them back to the side and climbed out, shaking off the water.

"Phew. How was that Jamjars?" Banjo asked, panting slightly. Jamjars gripped his switch in his hands.

"Not bad, bear. Not bad at all," he replied. Turning his gaze to Kazooie he added, "You did alright too, fleabag. You two have come a long way, I'll say that much."

Kazooie crossed her wings and scoffed. "Thanks I guess, mole boy. We're not about to let ourselves fall behind again. You never know when 'ol toad breath will come crawling back."

Banjo stretched and sighed. "Hopefully Gruntilda will stay stuck in that factory like Mr. L.O.G. said."

Hopping into her spot in his backpack, Kazooie stuck her head out and yawned.

"Even if bone butt comes back, we'll just defeat her again," she said. Jamjars bopped her over the head with his switch.

"It's that kind of attitude that leads to trouble, featherbrain," he said sternly. Kazooie rubbed her head and scowled at him. "There's nothing wrong with being confident in your abilities, but when you get overconfident…"

He looked them both over as he spoke. "…You set yourself up for defeat before anything even gets started."

The red-crested breegull became annoyed and ducked into the backpack briefly. A moment later she emerged and spit a blue egg at his head, knocking him over.

Kazooie burst out laughing, but Banjo seemed less amused. "Kazooie!" he said. She calmed down a bit and sighed. To her, he deserved it for hitting her.

Jamjars grabbed his hat and stood up, placing it back on his head. "Why you ungrateful little…"

"Oh, c'mon short stuff. You had it coming." She grinned smugly as she spoke. Jamjars just shook his head.

"As I was saying…Don't get too cocky. You never know when trouble is just around the corner. That's all, punks. Dismissed!" He leaped into one of his nearby silos and closed the hatch.

Banjo shielded his eyes as he looked up into the sky. There was still plenty of daylight left before nightfall.

"Come on, Kazooie. What do you say we call it an early day and go relax?" Banjo asked. For once she agreed; she could go for a bit of down time, if only for today.

* * *

Banjo stared at the ceiling, lying out on his bed with his arms crossed behind his head. Kazooie was nestled in the backpack which was hanging from the coat rack with only her head poking out.

"Hey, Banjo?" she asked after a while of silence.

"Yeah?"

"Why do you think old Wart Brain hasn't given up trying to get revenge by now? She holds a grudge as good as her butt used to hold fat."

Banjo chuckled a bit and closed his eyes. "I have no idea, Kazooie. All we did was protect Tooty all those years ago, so I don't really see how we did anything wrong…" His voice trailed off. After a moment he spoke again.

"You ever think maybe she's just lonely?" Kazooie tilted her head.

"Lonely? What do you mean? She had more minions than I could count!"

"Yes, but…They seemed pretty mindless. Her only semi loyal minion was Klungo, and he wised up a long time ago."

Kazooie shrugged. "She doesn't seem the type to make friends. Remember what happened to her sisters?"

Banjo thought back to the Tower of Tragedy, where he saw both of them get squashed under 1 Ton weights for losing the trivia show.

"You have a point. I can't believe she would do that to her own sisters." This made him think back even further. "Speaking of sisters, whatever happened to her good sister? What was her name…Brentilda?"

"Last we saw of her, she was inside Gruntilda's lair. Whatever happened to her, it's none of our concern."

Banjo sat up on the bed.

"How can you say that when she helped us defeat Gruntilda the first time?"

Kazooie yawned and closed her eyes.

"She may have helped us, but she's still a witch. I wouldn't trust her as far as I could throw her."

Staring down at the bed, Banjo sighed.

Kazooie jumped out of the backpack and landed next to him.

"Don't tell me you're just now going to start being bummed about her. It's been so many years since then."

"Just never crossed my mind. She helped us and we left her there after the entrances got sealed off, who knows what could have…"

Kazooie put a wing to his mouth, stopping him from finishing his sentence. She took it away and looked him in the eyes.

"I know you want to help everybody you can, Banjo. Sometimes you can't help but miss a few though. You're still a hero to all of us, that much isn't going to change."

He gave a small smile and embraced her in a hug. She returned the hug and patted his back. After the bonding moment, she took her place back in the bag.

"Now I don't know about you," she said, "but I'm taking a nap."

Banjo laid back on the bed again and closed his eyes.

"Sounds like a plan to me."


	4. There's No Place Like Home

There's No Place Like Home

Gruntilda had spent a good amount of time reconstructing her army of Gruntbots. Showdown Town had been left mostly empty after everyone returned to Spiral Mountain and their homes.

Looking down from the balcony on L.O.G's game factory, Gruntilda marveled at the sea of robotic minions.

"Now listen up, the lot of you! Here's what you will need to do!" she started, making sure all of them were paying attention.

"We'll use that door to my old world, and make sure that this plan's unfurled. But we can't just barge in straight away, we'd never have a welcomed stay."

She put a hand to the glass tank that housed her head, thinking. Giving a snap of her fingers, she continued.

"Tell you what old Grunty will do. I'll move the entrance away from those two! Instead of leading right to that place, we'll pop inside this witch's face!" She cackled evilly, causing a roar of cheers from the Gruntbots.

"They may have the deed to the land, but there will still be one last stand…"

She leaped down to the ground and made her way up to the doorway, her army of bots following behind.

Whipping out her wrench and various other tools, she set to work on it.

"A little turn here, an adjustment there, and soon we'll be back in my lair." She pried open the large door, yet there was nothing but darkness on the other side.

Gruntilda frowned and whacked the side a few times with the wrench.

"Is this thing on? I cannot tell, maybe it just needs a little spell…" Gruntilda put away the wrench and held her hands above her head.

"Though now I'm made of metal and gears, I've still got magic after all these years!" A small blue orb began to form between her hands.

She let it build up for a bit before launching it at the door, which sparked and crackled for a few moments.

"Hmph! One more whack seems to be needed; this stupid door sure seems conceited!" Gruntilda said as she swung the wrench back once more, then landed a strong blow against the doorframe.

This seemed to do the trick, as inside the door a fuzzy image flickered on and off for a few seconds before stabilizing.

A picture of Spiral Mountain was present.

"What's this now? That can't be correct. It should have worked, I had it perfect…"

She cranked the wrench on a few parts and the image switched over to Jinjo Village on the Isle 'o Hags.

Blinking, she turned it again. This time an image of Banjo's house came up.

"No no no, that isn't right! Anywhere but this ugly sight!"

One more crank and the image changed to the entrance of her old lair. An evil grin crept across her boney face.

"There we go, that's all it took. Come now bots, all to my nook!"

With that, her and all of her Gruntbots raced through the portal and poured into the lair.

"You and you, remove those boulders. I can't move much with these scrawny shoulders."

Two small Gruntbots with drills for arms set to work on drilling away the blockage of rocks that lead deeper into the lair, as well as where Mumbo's Mountain was based.

"While that's going, you lot come here. Put up a door to keep out that bear." Moving behind the portal, a few of the bots began to line the walls with various materials they had brought with them, as well as construct a metal security door.

"Let's upgrade this dusty old cave. My sweet revenge I'll have to save."

* * *

Kazooie opened her eyes slowly, rubbing them with her wings. It was late in the afternoon and the sun was on its way to setting, filling the house with a soft orange light. Letting out a yawn, she hopped out of the backpack and onto the floor, stretching.

A strange noise off in the distance caught her attention. She snuck out the door to have a look around. If there was any trouble she wanted first dibs on finding a reason for another adventure.

"_Sounds like it's coming from the witch's old place,"_ she thought to herself. _"I hope it's something interesting at least!"_

Banjo opened his eyes and yawned. Glancing over at the coat rack, he noticed his friend was absent from her usual spot. He sat up and stretched, then got off the bed and grabbed the backpack. Putting it on, he set off to find where she had gone.

"Kazooie!" he called. "Where'd you wander off to?"

Responding to his call, his feathered friend flew down and landed beside him.

"Banjo, something strange is going on."

He gave a puzzled look and blinked.

"Strange? What do you mean? Where?"

She climbed into his backpack and pointed towards Gruntilda's lair.

"Head over there and you'll see what I mean. Let's use the broken bridge to climb up to Grunty's old place."

Banjo hurried over as fast as he could. He had a bad feeling about what awaited the pair when he arrived, but he also felt it was his duty to investigate.

With Kazooie's help, he performed a large back flip into the air and managed to grab onto the bridge. Using it as a ladder, he climbed to the top and onto the ledge. What stood in front of him made him more confused than ever.

Kazooie popped her head out and pointed again.

"See what I mean? What do you make of this?"

A large metal door with no apparent method of opening it covered the entire entrance to the lair.

"Gee, that sure doesn't look familiar," Banjo said, scratching his head. "When did that get here?"

Interrupting his train of thought, the sound of microphone feedback shot through and echoed in the small space. A speaker at the top of the door let out a familiar voice.

"Go away you annoying pest! There are still too many things to test!"

Banjo's jaw dropped a little as he instantly recognized the voice.

"Gruntilda?" he asked.

"Yes it's me, you half-wit bear. Return home now and stay down there!"

That didn't make sense. Gruntilda was sending them away, when she usually wanted everything to do with trying to destroy them.

"What are you up to, warty? And how did you get out of L.O.G.'s factory? I thought he was gonna keep you there forever!" Kazooie questioned. The speaker gave a loud feedback sound once more before Gruntilda's voice took over again.

"That has nothing to do with you. Don't you two listen? Go on, shoo!"

"Maybe you forgot that we own the deed to Spiral Mountain? Legally we have the right to demand answers!" the bird insisted.

"You own the mountain, that much is true, but this lair is mine you feathered fool!" Kazooie scowled at this.

She whispered something to Banjo, to which he nodded. He backed up as far as he could and crouched down. Kazooie ducked into the backpack and emerged a few seconds later. She leaned her head back, then shot it forward and spit a Grenade Egg directly at the door.

A loud explosion rang out and a scorch mark was left on the surface, yet the door didn't budge. An annoying cackle came over the speaker.

"This door is thick, just like your skulls. You'll never get inside these walls!"

All this did was make Kazooie more irritated.

"We're getting in there, bot brain! One way or another!"

Banjo just sighed and shook his head.

"Maybe we should leave her alone, Kazooie." His partner gave him a confused look. "Well, she's not doing anything bad as far as we know. She's actually leaving us alone, she's not kidnapping anybody, and she's staying inside what belonged to her in the first place. The only strange thing is she's not where L.O.G. took her, but maybe he let her go. We shouldn't bother her if she's not going to bother us."

Kazooie looked off to the side, both angry and disappointed.

"…If you say so, Banjo," she said reluctantly before drawing her head inside.

The speaker called out again.

"That's right, nothing to see here. Just go on without a care."

The duo climbed back down and returned to their house, more confused than when they woke up.

Whatever was going on, it could wait until tomorrow.


	5. Here We Go Again

Here We Go Again

Night time fell across Spiral Mountain, yet no one was asleep. A faint racket could be heard coming from Gruntilda's lair, and the confusion coupled with a bit of annoyance was keeping Kazooie awake. Perched on top of the roof of Banjo's house, her eyes never left the witch's face in the mountainside.

"_What are you up to, Grunty…"_ she thought to herself. Banjo came outside and looked up at her. She seemed not to notice, her gaze focused and her mind off somewhere else.

He climbed his way up to the roof and sat down next to her.

"You can't sleep either, huh Banjo?" she asked without looking over.

"Not really," he said as he turned his attention to where she was looking. "I know what you're thinking, Kazooie. I don't know what she's doing up there either." His feathered friend shook her head and looked down at the ground, frustrated.

"It's just so unfair," she said quietly. "The old hag finally comes back again and I can't go up there after her."

Banjo patted her shoulder gently.

"Like I told you, she isn't doing anything wrong as far as we know. It's not our place to go digging around, looking for trouble.

Kazooie looked over with a slightly worried expression.

"What if she's up there right now, building some sort of contraption to turn us all into zombies or something? Or what if she's planning on trying to take over Spiral Mountain? You saw that door, she's definitely hiding something big!"

The bear thought it over and nodded. He had to admit, it did seem strange that Gruntilda sent them away without any obvious intent of doing them or anyone they knew harm.

"Maybe she escaped and just wanted to be back home, away from everybody," he suggested. Kazooie wasn't convinced.

"As if L.C.D. brain wouldn't notice she was missing. No, something is definitely wrong here, and I'm going to find out what." She went to hop off the roof, but Banjo put a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"Kazooie, no. She's done nothing to us since she got here, she hasn't spoke of any evil intentions, nothing. There's no reason to head up there." Groaning, Kazooie leaped onto the ground.

"I'm telling you, she's up to something! If we don't go find out what, by the time we figure it out it could be too late!" Hopping down next to her, Banjo folded his arms.

"Are you just using this as an excuse for another adventure?" Kazooie huffed and put her wings on her hips.

"Are _you_ using it as an excuse to _not_ go on another adventure?" Banjo sighed and put a paw to his face.

"I just don't see a reason to start trouble when trouble isn't trying to find us," he said. Kazooie ruffled her feathers and turned away."

"If you want to stay safe down here, then by all means do. I'm going to find out what's going on and stop that skull of a witch once and for all." At this she flew off, heading towards the lair.

"Kazooie! Wait!" Banjo called after her. His voice echoed in the night as he watched her sail through the sky. "I was just trying to avoid conflict…"

Landing on the ledge, she pounded the door with her wings.

"Let me in, winky!" she practically yelled. "I know you're up to something in there!"

The speaker screeched.

"You again? I thought I was clear, go back down and join that bear!"

She banged on the door again.

"Maybe you didn't hear me. I said, _let me in!_"

A few moments of static followed.

"You don't give up, you little pest! Come in then, if you insist…"

The door made a loud whirring sound and began to rise up. Kazooie folded her wings and waited. It was extremely dark inside, a lot darker than she remembered it. Trudging on inside, the door slammed down shut behind her, causing her to jump.

Taking a moment to look around again, multiple small lights began to light up the darkness.

"What's all this now?" she asked, mostly to herself.

A light on the ceiling illuminated the rest of the room. The smaller lights belonged to the eyes of a bunch of Gruntbots. A second speaker was present above the old portrait of Gruntilda, which was still beyond ruined. A small screech emitted before her voice came over it.

"Your wish was granted you stupid twit, now come and see just what you get!"

All of the Gruntbots began to advance towards the now slightly nervous breegull.

"I'm not leaving until I get some answers!" she said bravely. Gruntilda's voice cackled.

"That's fine by me, just come inside! You will find I've nothing to hide!"

* * *

Banjo stood in front of his house, looking up at the moon.

"I didn't mean to make you go off on your own, Kazooie…" he said to nobody in particular.

He was snapped out of his small trance as a distinct sound caught his attention. From up atop the mountainside, he swore he heard Kazooie call his name, although it was a bit muffled.

"Kazooie?" he called out, his voice once again echoing throughout. He heard a response just the same as the first, this time there was no question.

"Hang on Kazooie, I'm coming!" he called out as he raced after his friend. If she had gotten herself into trouble, he would stop at nothing to bail her out.


	6. Of Gizmos and Gadgets

Of Gizmos and Gadgets

After Gruntilda's second defeat at the hands of Banjo and Kazooie, her factory _Grunty Industries _had long since been abandoned by her former minions and workers. Even Weldar, albeit just a head, had vacated long ago.

The machinery's gears had slowed to a stop, the pipes no longer spewed out smoke, yet the air never lost its stale, thick quality.

From deep inside the dormant facility, a loud rumble was heard.

"(cough) Not again…"

A small figure stood up in the dimly lit room of the vacant factory. Dusting off his small blue lab coat, he adjusted his thick spectacles and sighed.

"Well, that's not much of a surprise I suppose," he said to nobody in particular. He ran a hand through the silver quills that covered the top of his head and led down his back.

The little hedgehog wiped his forehead with a stray rag. _"Maybe I just need a little air," _he thought to himself.

Making his way through the various rooms, he exited the front door and took a deep breath, followed by a cough or two.

"Blech. I think the air was actually better inside." He shook off a bit and stretched.

A mechanical sounding bark from the distance caught his attention. Looking over with a smile on his face, he kneeled down as a small robotic dog came running up, wagging its tail.

"Hey boy! Did you find me anything I can use?" he asked, patting the dog's head. Leaning into his hand, it barked again. "Not this time, huh? That's okay, I'm sure we'll dig up some stuff eventually."

As if remembering something important, the dog hopped backwards and jumped up and down, whining. The hedgehog tilted his head in confusion.

"What's the matter, boy? I thought you didn't find anything." The dog barked a few times, pointing with his tail. "What? You picked up something strange coming from that way?" Nodding, the dog ran off towards the exit to Grunty Industries. "Hey, wait for me!" his owner called, chasing after him.

Not quite understanding what was going on, he was always up for something new. Maybe he would even find parts for his experiments.

* * *

Bottles wandered up out of his home unable to sleep. He stretched and looked up at the night sky that was peppered with stars of varying sizes. It was nice not having to worry about any evil witches or minions for a change.

"It's been so quiet since Gruntilda got sentenced to that videogame factory," he said quietly to himself. As he was about to go back inside, all of a sudden he was knocked over by something running.

"Wah!" he yelped as he was knocked into the air, landing head-first in the ground with only his bottom half sticking out. Sliding to a stop, the little robot dog ran back over and whined.

Running up alongside the two, the hedgehog stopped and blinked.

"Gizmo, what did you do?" The dog looked off to the side ashamed as Bottles gave a muffled response to the voice.

The hedgehog grabbed onto Bottles' feet and pulled. After a few tries, the poor mole popped out of the ground, slightly dazed.

"Sorry about that. Gizmo there tends to get overly excited when he's on the trail of something."

Bottles put his glasses back on and blinked.

"Do I know you?" he asked, still a little confused. Taking a look around, the hedgehog tilted his head.

"…Bottles? Is that you?" he asked, lifting his glasses to reveal a pair of icy blue eyes. Bottles blinked a few times and looked closer.

"Gadget?" he asked. Both of them smiled, then embraced each other in a hug. "It _is_ you! Wow, how long has it been?"

"Quite a long time I'd say," Gadget said with a laugh. "It's good to see you again! I didn't even realize where I was. I was too busy following Gizmo." At this the dog did a back flip and barked happily. "How's the family?"

Bottles looked back to the path leading to his house.

"Oh, doing well. Doing well…" he trailed off, but looked back to Gadget. "What have you been up to all this time?"

Gadget called Gizmo over and patted his head.

"I found this abandoned factory a while ago and I've been using the various parts to create this and that. It's been pretty smooth, but there are days where things have minds of their own. Today happened to be one of those days, since I made one of them quite literally blow up in my face."

He picked Gizmo up and looked off into the distance.

"This little guy here is my greatest and favorite creation. He's been somewhat of a sidekick to me this past year or so."

Bottles reached over and patted Gizmo's head.

"What was the little fella after anyway? He seemed to be on the trail of something."

Gadget adjusted his glasses as Gizmo hopped down, sniffing around on the ground.

"Ah, yes. I believe he said something about his sensors picking up on a large influx of energy coming from this direction…" Gadget looked around as he spoke. Gizmo had wandered off and was nosing around the tunnel where Hag-1 had been through a long time ago.

"Said?" Bottles asked. "He can talk too?"

"Well, not exactly," Gadget explained. "It's strange. He can only make your average canine noises, yet I can understand his meaning. To anyone else I believe it would sound like little more than barks and whines."

Bottles scratched his chin, nodding a bit.

"I'd better get back to following him and see what's up." He waved goodbye as he darted off.

"_I wonder if this has anything to do with Banjo and Kazooie," _Bottles thought as Gadget ran off. _"Surely it can't be Gruntilda again. Not after last time."_

Gadget caught up to his faithful companion, who was clawing at the rocks blocking the digger tunnel. Looking them over, he put a paw on one and closed his eyes.

Gizmo backed up and tackled the rock, but nothing happened. He tried again with the same result. Opening his eyes, Gadget stepped back.

"Gizmo, activate your drill function. We'll tear through this little blockage."

Nodding, the robot canine's head lifted up and folded back. Not too long after a drill emerged from the hole and began to spin. For being so small compared to the rocks, it began to blast through them as if they weren't even there.

Pretty soon a hole no larger than Gadget himself had been created. Gizmo's barking echoed inside the digger tunnel on the other side. Following his friend through the passage, he looked around the dimly lit cave.

"What…What is all of this?" Gizmo seemed momentarily confused, as he ran around in circles here and there. Eventually he was back on track and already drilling through the second set of rocks at the opposite end.

Following the commotion, Gadget ran through the opening and back out into the fresh air of the night.

"Where are we?" he asked, taking in his surroundings. It appeared to be somewhat of a large valley with two waterfalls emptying into a small lake and a river spilling into a small moat. The moat surrounded a relatively small spiral shaped mountain that appeared to be in the center of everything.

"This place seems rather strange…" As he looked around more he noticed a face carved into the rocks in the shape of a witch with two glowing green eyes. "And now it just got a little bit stranger."

Gizmo was jumping up and down, pointing up at the witch face with his tail.

"So that's where the anomaly came from, huh? Maybe we should check it out th-"

Gadget was cut off in mid sentence as he heard someone shout from far off.

"Hang on Kazooie, I'm coming!" the voice said. Gadget tilted his head in confusion and looked around for the source. He spotted a lone figure moving quite quickly towards the center mountain.

"Gizmo, come on. Let's go ask that fellow if he's seen anything odd happening in the general area."

The dog barked in agreement and hopped up onto his master's head. Gadget took off after the stranger in hopes of getting a few answers.

* * *

**A/N: Gadget and Gizmo are both my original characters, and as such both belong to me.**

**This chapter was sort of long compared to the previous ones. Maybe I'll keep up this length with future chapters, maybe I won't. Depends on how nice my writer's block is feeling that day.  
**


	7. The Friend of my Enemy is my Enemy

The Friend of my Enemy is my Enemy

"You there! Wait one moment if you would please!" Gadget called out as he chased after the running figure. Not seeming to hear him, the figure continued and ran for what appeared to be a broken bridge hanging down from what he could only assume to be the mouth of the witch face.

His running turned to a brisk stroll as he watched the stranger attempt to climb up the fixture. As they were almost to the top, a loud snapping sound was heard. Realizing what was going to happen, Gadget pointed over to the scene.

"Gizmo! Safety net!" he called out. His partner dove with a surprising quickness underneath the falling figure. His body split in half down the middle and widened apart, revealing a large net. Raising himself up off the ground, he caught the bear and moved out of the way of the rest of the broken bridge, but not before a board clunked the stranger on his head.

Returning over to Gadget, he gently slid the unconscious bear onto the ground and returned to his normal state, hopping back up onto his friend's head.

"Well now," Gadget said, stroking his chin in thought, "I don't think he'll be giving us any answers like this. We should make sure he's alright…"

* * *

Banjo sat up quickly, eyes wide.

The moon and stars had faded away to the soft glow of morning light by the time Banjo awoke.

"Kazooie!" he half shouted, not fully aware of where he was or what had happened. As his breathing evened out a little, he looked around and noticed he was sitting in his bed. For a brief moment, he hoped it had all been a terrible nightmare. Right after, however, he realized he was still wearing his backpack-and it was distressingly empty.

Frantically hopping out of bed, he dashed out the front door and tripped, landing on his face in the yard.

"That looked a tad bit painful. Are you sure you're ready to be out and about so soon?" he heard an unfamiliar voice say from behind. Rolling over onto his back, he sat up on the ground and looked back at the source. As his eyes settled upon the small hedgehog, he blinked in confusion before standing up and dusting himself off.

"Who uh…Who are you?" was all he could think of to say.

"I'm the person that made sure you weren't dead," he responded. "You got a nasty bump on your head there."

Banjo put a paw to his head and winced. He hadn't noticed he was wearing a head bandage.

"I was trying to get inside Gruntilda's lair and I guess the bridge broke," Banjo said, trying to recall what had happened. "Oh, how am I going to get in there now…I can't reach the entrance anymore…"

Gadget walked over and adjusted his glasses.

"Why do you need inside there so badly? This…Gruntilda's lair as you put it."

Banjo stared down at the ground.

"My friend Kazooie went in there to check things out and never came back. I'm worried about her, so I wanted to go check." He looked back to where his friend had gone. "It's a long story. A very long story, actually. I don't know if I have time to explain everything."

Running a hand through his quills, Gadget had a look of deep thought on his face. Something was clicking inside his head at the mention of that name, as if he'd just remembered something important.

"If you want to go save your friend, then I can probably help you get in there." Banjo's attention shot back to Gadget, a hopeful glint in his eyes. "I see you like that idea. Come now, let's go see if we can figure a way in there, yes?" The bear nodded enthusiastically.

Gadget started off towards the spiral with Banjo tagging along behind him. After a few moments, Banjo realized he hadn't gotten this stranger's name.

"What did you say your name was again?" he asked. Without looking back, the hedgehog answered.

"They call me Gadget." Banjo nodded a little.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Gadget. How exactly did you find your way here? I don't recall ever seeing you around these parts."

His new friend looked up at the sky as he walked.

"I'll explain when we get to the top of there," he said as he pointed to the spiral in the center. Nodding, Banjo followed along quietly.

Once at the top, the two looked over at the witch's face.

"So how are we gonna get over there, Mr. Gadget?" Banjo asked, scratching the side of his head without the lump.

Gadget just smiled and put his fingers to his lip, letting out a loud whistle. After a few moments, something came running up the spiral. Gizmo hopped up onto his spot on Gadget's head and barked once, wagging his tail.

"Gizmo here can help us with that little annoyance," he said, smiling still. "Gizmo, bridge the gap please." Hopping off his perch, Gizmo positioned himself at the edge of the top and gripped the ground with his two back feet. He extended his body all the way across to the other side and clamped onto the ground with his two front feet, holding completely still. "Will that do?"

Banjo blinked.

"Gosh, that sure is a neat trick," he said in amazement. Gadget laughed a bit.

"Come on, let's go see what happened to your friend. Kazooie was it?" Banjo nodded as he started his crossing over to the entrance, Gadget not too far behind. As soon as they were both safely across, Gizmo retracted his lower half and returned to his normal state, climbing back up to his perch.

"I believe I owe you an explanation before we go any further," the hedgehog started. "Gizmo here is my creation. He's been my partner and friend for the past year or so. I've taken up residence in an old abandoned factory I found a ways away from here. I think the sign said 'Grunty Industries.' I'm assuming that's the same Grunty as the one that kidnapped Kazooie." The bear nodded along to the story. "Yesterday Gizmo came to me and told me he picked up some strange surge of energy coming from over here. I followed him all the way here and ended up at the base of that spiral mountain down there. We came along right before you fell down with the bridge."

Banjo was about to respond, but was cut off before he could.

"By the way…If your friend's name is Kazooie, I'm assuming you're Banjo, correct?" Taken aback a little, Banjo was now curious.

"How did you know that?"

Gadget looked back at him and adjusted his glasses.

"Well for one, your house says 'BANJO' on the front door." A slightly embarrassed look crossed Banjo's face. "And two, I've heard stories of you two from my old friend Bottles. He used to send me messages about how things were going and what was happening. He speaks highly of you two." Banjo scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

Gadget knocked on the door that blocked their path. The speaker remained quiet this time. He knocked again, a little harder, but to no avail.

Meanwhile, Gruntilda was watching everything from her new headquarters high up in her tower. A hidden camera inside the speaker kept a close eye on the hedgehog, bear and dog.

"So Banjo's got a brand new friend. He too will meet a similar end," Gruntilda said as she clenched her fists. Piddle was grooming herself on top of a nearby metal crate. "I'll let them in, just so I can see if they have what it takes to set Kazooie free." Gruntilda pressed a button on her large computer terminal and watched the screen.

The door slid open slowly up into the ceiling. Not quite sure what to make of it, Gadget was hesitant to enter. Banjo however wasted no time in running inside. Shrugging his shoulders, the short hedgehog strolled on in behind him.

Inside the lair, Banjo could tell things weren't the same as before. A large luminescent light lit up the room with an eerie green glow. The floors and walls were all coated in sheet metal and the giant portrait of Gruntilda had been replaced by two arrow signs pointing left and right. The sign pointing to the corridor that once housed Mumbo's Mountain read, "SCRAP METAL MOUNTAIN", whereas the left read, "INNER LAIR."

A bit more investigating revealed a trail of breegull feathers on the ground leading down the right hall. Banjo leaned down and picked one up, holding it in his hand gently. _"Kazooie…"_

With that thought in his mind he dashed down the metal hall and into the darkness that lead to the once benevolent world of Mumbo's Mountain. Gadget and Gizmo had wandered off in the other direction, fascinated by the inner design of the lair. Curiosity got the best of him as he soon was well out of reach of communication with Banjo.

* * *

As Banjo entered the world, the first thing he noticed was the sky. Instead of the cheerful blue with puffy white clouds he remembered, it was now tainted a dull brown with black smog floating freely.

"What has Grunty done to this place?" he said to nobody but himself. Even the ground, once lush and full of life, was now barren and completely dried up. The mountain leading up to Mumbo's skull was now completely covered in large sheets of metal and various machinery parts. The clear water that once was refreshing and cool now appeared to be dark and uninviting, as if it were poisonous.

"No time to sightsee right now, I have to find Kazooie," he reminded himself. Running down the path, he looked all around for his feathered friend. As he reached the bridge over the water, it became clear that wasn't going to be the best idea; it seemed to be broken beyond use. _"Okay," _he thought, _"How did I always get over dangerous surfaces when I didn't have Kazooie with me… …Oh!"_

Remembering his lessons from Jamjars, he pulled off his backpack and hopped inside it like a sack.

"There we go. I think this is how it went...I hope this works."

He hopped forward onto the surface of the water, bounced a little and floated. Smiling slightly, he did it again and moved forward over the top of the toxic liquid. He continued this pattern until he reached the other side. He jumped out of the pack, shook it dry and put it back on.

"Kazooie is in here somewhere. I can feel it."

Shielding his eyes, he looked around the skyline, back to the ground and around the towering metal walls. Something caught his attention; a small patch of red and yellow. Running as fast as he could towards it, he slid to a stop at the top of a small mound of metal. He was both relieved and extremely worried, and for good reason.

He had found his friend at long last.

However, she seemed to be unconscious inside of a cage that was hanging over a pit of molten steel.


	8. Feel The Magic

**A/N: Thank you to the people that have been following along so far. Not sure how many there are, but I know for sure of at least one. Special thanks to **_**horse mountain**_** for all the reviews. Wasn't sure I'd even get as far as I did with it. Also I apologize in advance this chapter is a tad bit short compared to the others. It's late here and I'm running on little energy.**

**With that out of the way, let's get on with the story shall we?**

* * *

Feel The Magic

Banjo's heart sank when he laid eyes upon his feathered friend inside the cage. As far as he could tell, none of the moves he had learned during his adventures would help this situation. He called out to her as loud as he could, but she didn't stir.

"_Hang on Kazooie…"_ he said quietly as he turned and took off up the side of the mountain. This place was once Mumbo's Mountain, maybe it was possible that…

The giant termite hill that once stood proud had been replaced with a large metal statue of Gruntilda. As Banjo rounded the obstacle, he hopped over various bits of rusted metal that jutted out from the decaying landscape. It wasn't long before his goal was within sight: Mumbo's skull.

The shaman's home appeared to be crumbling, the entrance blocked by debris. Banjo wasted no time in clearing it out of the way. As soon as the doorway was clear he dashed inside.

"Mumbo!" he called, "Are you in here? It's me, Banjo!" His voice echoed, but received no response. "Kazooie is in trouble! I need your help!" he called again. A thump on the floor made him jump back. A second thump was heard, followed by a square in the floor opening up and folding back to reveal a certain skull-faced shaman. Hopping out and dusting himself off, he greeted his furry friend before explaining what was going on.

"Grunty come and ruin Mumbo's home. Whole place different. Witch capture loudmouth bird and threaten to steal Mumbo's magic. Grunty is gone?" he asked.

"I don't know about gone, but she doesn't seem to be in this world at the moment," Banjo answered. "As I was saying, I need your help with Kazooie. There's no time to explain, let's go!" he said as he bolted out the door. Mumbo followed behind as fast as he could. Making their way back to where Banjo had been, they saw a Gruntbot laughing and messing with a few buttons on a control panel connected to the chain on the cage.

Banjo ran down and whacked it away with his backpack. Dazed but not beaten, the Gruntbot leaped back and took a swing at him. Banjo jumped back, but this caused the Gruntbot to miss and strike the control panel. A siren went off and Kazooie's cage began to drop. An alarmed look came over Banjo's face.

"Mumbo! We have to do something!" he said with panic in his voice. Nodding, Mumbo observed the situation. An idea was forming in his head.

"Bird will be roasted if cage drops. Must act quickly…" Digging around, he pulled out a small brown bag. "Mumbo keep this for emergencies. Magic of Glowbo, very powerful." He stood at the edge of the water and began to chant an incantation. Slowly the murky water began to swirl around. Before long a whirlpool effect was clearly visible. Banjo watched quietly, glancing back and forth between him and Kazooie. All of a sudden, a giant pillar of water shot up and arched, landing in the molten steel. A loud sizzling sound was heard as the water poured in.

As the steel was cooled by the water it began to harden, and as suddenly as it happened the water faded away. Kazooie's cage landed with a thud on top of the newly created structure, the bird within unharmed. Banjo sighed with relief.

"Wow. Quick thinking Mumbo," Banjo said with a smile. Mumbo put away the bag and folded his arms.

"Bird should be thankful. Mumbo will not hold breath though," he said, causing Banjo to laugh a bit. Hopping up onto the top of the metal, Banjo pried open the cage and pulled Kazooie out gently. The Gruntbot was attempting to sneak away, but Mumbo tossed his staff at it and knocked it over with a loud clang, preventing any chance of escape.

* * *

High up in her lair, Gruntilda was watching everything unfurl from her multiple hidden cameras she had placed around.

"Well well, that's how they want to play? That's fine by me, I'll have my day!" she said, grinning. Piddles rolled her eyes and jumped onto the floor. "Furry pest and feathered friend, their efforts will lead to a literal dead end!" Piddles purred quietly to herself, enjoying the ferocity in Gruntilda's voice.

"Now that Mumbo's out of hiding, on his butt my bots will be riding! I'll have them bring him magic and all, straight up here into this hall. With boneface gone they'll be more alone, no more partners will I condone! That new friend of his makes me miffed. I'll dispatch with him and I'll make it swift!"

* * *

"Kazooie? … Kazooie, wake up…" Banjo said softly as he gave her a light shake. She stirred slightly and mumbled something incoherent before yawning and stretching.

"Hnn…Where am I?" she asked sleepily.

"I don't know anymore," Banjo replied. "Come on, you can rest in here." He gently slid the backpack around her and placed it back on. Showing no signs of protest, he turned his attention to Mumbo.

"Let's get out of this place. It's not what it used to be, Mumbo. Maybe we can fix all this if we find Gruntilda. She has to be inside the lair somewhere. I could really use your help for this."

Mumbo nodded without hesitation.

"Grunty need to be taught a lesson. Mumbo will get revenge for home and for bird."

Running as fast as they could out of the world they were in, they could swear they heard Gruntilda's mocking laughter ringing in their ears.


	9. Living the City Life

Living the City Life

Stopping to rest outside Scrap Metal Mountain, Banjo and Mumbo discussed what to do next.

"We're going to have to find our way through her lair again," Banjo said, nodding to himself a bit. Mumbo looked around, back to his former home and finally at Banjo.

"Mumbo only familiar with worlds inside witch's lair as they were. Much has changed. Layout may be very different now." Banjo scratched his head and thought about it. His friend did have a point. There was no guarantee that all the corridors and pathways even led to the same areas anymore. Everything had been changed so quickly, too.

Kazooie poked her head out of the backpack and groaned. Banjo tried to look back at her.

"Told you we should've gone after her," she said groggily.

"Sorry about that Kazooie. I should have listened to you earlier. What do we do now then?"

"I say we go after botbutt and put a stop to her once and for all," his feathered friend chimed in. "It's getting a bit ridiculous."

Mumbo nodded in agreement.

"Witch been much trouble long time. Whatever Grunty planning, we must stop no matter what."

Interrupting their train of thought, a loud screech came from the ceiling. Looking up they noticed yet another speaker sticking out of the wall high up in the air.

"_I see you saved that feathered fool, that won't change my plans to rule!" _cackled a familiar voice. Kazooie glared up at the speaker. _"You have two options, turn back or proceed, but don't think you're safe with having that deed! The mountain is yours, but the day will be mine; I'll do you all in, it's my time to shine!"_

Kazooie spit a Grenade Egg at the speaker, breaking it apart with a small explosion. Satisfied with herself, she ducked into the backpack. A small robot deployed from the ceiling and almost instantly repaired the speaker before ducking back inside.

"_Those stupid eggs I do despise, now watch them fail before your eyes!"_

Banjo scratched his head.

"So if we break something then one of those little robots will just come and fix it up again?" he asked.

"_You're not as slow as you appear, there's still a chance to flee in fear!"_

"Not a chance, Grunty!" Kazooie said as she poked her head out momentarily. "We're already here, we're coming for you."

"_We'll see, little bird, how far you get, my new lair will test your wit!"_

Mumbo took out his staff and pointed it up at the speaker.

"Witch try to take Mumbo's magic. Grunty want magic, Mumbo will show magic. We should go now."

Banjo nodded and headed deeper into the lair with Mumbo not too far behind. The old ramp leading up to where the first note door had been was now a metal staircase. In place of the note door was a metal one with a keyhole shaped like a Jiggy.

"How are we supposed to open this?" Banjo asked, scratching his head. "That hole in it has a familiar shape…"

Kazooie stuck her head out of the backpack for a better look. Eyeing it for a moment, she reached into the bag and pulled out a spare Jiggy.

"I found it in a pile of junk back there," she said. "I thought it might come in handy, since these things usually tend to." Banjo took the puzzle piece and fitted it into the slot on the door. The frame glowed orange before the door swung open. What stood on the other side seemed to be another doorway, but looked similar to the portal that lead back to Showdown Town.

Banjo stuck a paw out at it before proceeding through, Mumbo trailing behind. As soon as both of them were on the other side, the image of the lair behind them flickered and faded to black.

"Er…I don't remember all of this behind here before," Banjo said, slightly in awe. Their new locale appeared to be a large metropolis area, complete with multiple sky high buildings. None of these however seemed to have any entranced and were made completely of differing colors of steel, adorned with multiple neon lights of all colors. It appeared to be night, accentuating the glowing lights. Various Gruntbots wandered the streets, but paid no attention to the trio that had just arrived. A sign hovering above where they stood read "LIGHTSIGHT CITY."

"This place not familiar. Much bigger than old lair. Grunty been busy with work," Mumbo said as he observed his surroundings. "

"I don't know if we're even in there still," Kazooie said as she poked her head out. "Seems to me Grunty whipped up some kind of portal. Not sure how she managed all this in such a short amount of time, but it doesn't matter."

Banjo stretched and looked around one more time.

"Why aren't those robots doing anything?" he asked with a puzzled look on his face. "They're just wandering around aimlessly."

"Maybe they're just taking up space," Kazooie chimed in. "They must take after their creator!"

Mumbo walked over and poked one with his staff. It fell over, but continued to attempt to walk forward. He chuckled and kicked it away into a wall.

"I suppose we ought to find out where we're going," Banjo said with a nod. "I'd rather not be lost in a place like this…"

* * *

**A/N: I'm sorry this took so long and it's so short. My writer's block has been on in full force and this and that have happened since I put up the last chapter. I don't know if I'm going to be able to continue this any time soon, so sorry to whoever is actually bothering to follow along.**

**I'll try to keep up with it as much as I can.  
**


	10. Disgruntled Gruntbot Gardener: Reggie

Disgruntled Gruntbot Gardener – Reggie

A large, bulky figure resembling the wrench-wielding Guvnors of Grunty Industries' past wearing a lime green uniform and cap trotted around a large patch of soil. He carried a large metal pack on his back, with a nozzle connected by a hose in his hand. The area he was in was little more than an open square plot of land surrounded on all but one side by the buildings of the city. Four large fans covered by grates sat one in each corner, blowing out relatively hot air at a fairly decent rate.

"Tha' 'ol witch be'er be grateful fer th' things I do fer her," the figure said to nobody in particular. As he lumbered around, various Whiplashes and Gruntweeds bounced up and down and wiggled about. He sprayed down each one with the nozzle, coating them in what appeared to be a mist of green water, which they happily soaked up. A speaker set high up on a wall screeched a little.

"_Come on Reggie, don't be slow, hurry up and make them grow!"_ the all too familiar voice spoke.

"Ye' ye' ya 'ol buzzard, I'm getting' thur, dun' worry 'bout it," he said scornfully.

"_Watch your tone you little brat, or I'll scrap your metal just like that!"_

As the speaker faded to static and went silent, Reggie lifted his hat and scratched his head before placing it back down. He sighed and slumped his shoulders, kicking at a clump of dirt.

"Tha' durn witch is gonna get it one 'o these days," he grumbled as he got back to work spraying the plants.

* * *

"This sure is strange looking," Banjo said as he stared at what stood before him. A large wall of pulsing blue energy with an image of Banjo on it blocked the path. A pair of Split-up Pads was conveniently placed nearby. Banjo reached out a paw, but it passed through the wall as if it wasn't even there. Pulling his paw back, he placed it on his chin instead. "What do you make of this?"

Mumbo knocked on it with his staff absentmindedly.

"Some kind of wall. Must lead to more of city. Banjo, try walking through," he said as he backed away a bit. Nodding, Banjo attempted to walk through it like a doorway, but was stopped suddenly. Kazooie let out a grunt at this, as she appeared to be caught on it.

"Ow! Banjo, go back!" she squawked. He stepped backwards away from it.

"Sorry about that Kazooie. I thought we could make it, since it doesn't seem to have a problem with me passing through…"

Mumbo pointed over at the Split-up Pads with his staff.

"Mumbo have idea as to how wall works. Bear and bird must separate."

Kazooie pecked at Banjo's head gently, as if giving the green light to go. He walked over to the pads and stood on the appropriate one. Kazooie hopped out of the pack and onto her spot.

"Mumbo and bird will wait. Banjo, go see what on other side of strange wall." Nodding once, Banjo ran off through the blockade, leaving the two waiting behind.

* * *

The buildings on both sides formed a sort of alleyway, leading deeper into the city. Trotting along, Banjo was coming up on a corner that turned to another path to the left. There was a small screen on the wall at the turn. As he approached it, it lit up. An image of Gadget soon came into view.

"Banjo! There you are. I was wondering if you would find this here," he said with a smile.

"Mr. Gadget? What are you doing here? Err…In there?"

"I'm not anywhere nearby. I've set these up across the city for you to find. There's somewhat of a dead end down this way that you probably won't be able to get by on your own. I'm going to have to show you a way over it."

"Over? Don't you mean through?" Banjo asked.

"Nope. Over! This is a move that only you can perform while you're on your own. I call it the **Chute Sack.** See that fan over there on the ground?" Gadget pointed over at a giant pile of debris with a large, grated fan in front of it. "Go stand over there on it and hold your empty backpack above your head, open side down. Grip the straps and hang on!"

Intrigued, Banjo walked on over and stood on the fan, which was blowing up a strong gust of hot air. He took off his backpack and held it as he was told, and soon found himself lifting off the ground.

"Wah!" he yelped as he rose higher into the air. From down on the ground Gadget called out,

"Swing your body to move over the debris!"

Banjo did as he was instructed and sailed over the pile. He floated down slowly onto the ground on the other side. Placing his backpack back on, he looked around at where he had landed. Another fan was next to him, a way back after he went exploring. A screen on the wall lit up, showing Gadget's face once more.

"There you go! Not too hard, was it? You can use this move to ride currents of air, or to safely land from what would otherwise be a nasty fall. Now then, whenever you find one of my **Tutor Terminals**, I'll teach you something useful! For now, I've got to get back to work…" The screen went blank, leaving Banjo all alone again. As he turned his gaze down the alleyway, he saw an open space with a lone figure wandering around.

"Excuse me!" the bear called out while wandering into the area. The figure stopped what it was doing and turned around. Squinting to get a better look, he scratched his head.

"Ey, ain't cha' that durn bear 'ol Grunty is always goin' on 'bout?"

"You know Gruntilda?" Banjo asked, now a bit regretful that he had come in without a plan.

"Ye', she's th' one tha' made me 'n this whole city. Well, not really 'er, but 'er bots did th' dirty work. Now, I ain't too fond of 'ol broom butt, but I reckon I outta take care 'a you fer tresspasin' in ma' garden…"

A few Gruntweeds and Whiplashes sprung up and covered the entrance, preventing any chance of escape Banjo had.

"Erm…Can't we talk about this?" he asked, looking around one last time.

"Why sure, bub. That is, if'n ya can keep me from poundin' yer butt into th' dirt!"

Reggie started by trudging slowly over to Banjo and raising the nozzle up in the air. Seeing this, Banjo rolled out of the way right before the nozzle was swung down. A few Whiplashes blocked the path, forcing Banjo to run around them. As Reggie turned around to do it again, the hero of a bear tried to land a Pack Whack, but simply bounced off.

"Wha' was that? A bug?" Reggie laughed as he swung the nozzle again. Realizing this wasn't going to work, Banjo ran around his attacker and avoided the plants, making it to one of the walls. As he looked around trying to think of something else to try, he noticed one of the fans in the corner. He ran over to stand on top of it and, remembering his lesson from earlier, took off his backpack and rode the air current up to the top of a roof. Reggie stood below, looking around in a confused manner.

"Where'd ya go ya lil' bugger?" he called. "Git back 'ere so's I can tan yer hide!"

A few of the mindless Gruntbots were roaming about on set paths on the rooftop. Suddenly an idea struck Banjo. It was a bit farfetched, but it couldn't hurt to try. He knocked one over with his backpack and picked it up, heading over to the edge. Banjo took aim carefully and threw it down as hard as he could. It hit its mark and broke over Reggie's head with a loud clang.

"D'oh!" he shouted as he stumbled a bit. "Why you little…" He took a few steps back and ran towards the wall to the building Banjo was on, slamming his shoulder into it as hard as he could. The force shook the entire structure and knocked Banjo clean off the top. Using his backpack like before, he floated safely down to the ground.

"I'll getcha fer tha' ya fleabag!" Reggie shouted, moving a bit faster than before. He swung the nozzle in the air a bit quicker as well, giving Banjo a little less time to react. Fortunately he was able to roll out of the way once more; unfortunately, it was right into a Gruntweed, which gave him a good whack. Yelping, Banjo fell back onto the ground. "I gotcha righ' where I want'cha now!" he heard from behind. He quickly got up and avoided another would-be smack to the head and made his way over to another fan, which he rode back up to a second roof.

"Pullin' yer dissapearin' act on me again are ya?" Reggie called from below, wandering around. Once again, Banjo knocked over a stray Gruntbot and hurled it down, breaking it apart over his foe's head.

"D'oh!" he cried out, stumbling once again. As before, he charged the wall and knocked Banjo down to earth in a similar manner. "This ain't workin' like I thought it would. I needs me a dif'ernt strat'gy…" Reggie turned a few knobs on the nozzle and shook it. "Yea', there we go. Lesse how ya' like this!" Taking aim with the nozzle, he fired a large blast of the green water. Banjo rolled out of the way just in the nick of time. There was little time to rest, however, as Reggie jogged over at an impressive pace and swung the nozzle down once more. Banjo couldn't move fast enough and was clunked away by the blow.

"Ha! 'Ol Reggie is too quick fer ya' is he?" he laughed. Rubbing his head, Banjo ran over to the third fan right before another blast of water hit the ground where he had been, then rode the air current up as before. A third Gruntbot soon found its way to Reggie's head.

"D'oh! Ya' durn pest! No mo'r playin' around!" Banjo was knocked off his perch again and landed a bit away from Reggie. This time, the nozzle was swung around in the air and launched at him. Banjo had to jump to the side quickly to avoid it. Without missing a beat, Reggie pulled it back and swung it again in a similar manner. Jumping again to dodge it, Banjo made a run for the last fan. "Oh no ya' don'!" he heard from behind as the hose caught up with him. It wrapped around him like a rope and yanked him back into Reggie's waiting fist. This floored the bear for a few moments before he got up and regained his senses.

"Keep 'em still fellas!"

Responding to the voice, three Gruntweeds sprung up and began to hop after Banjo. Seeing this, he made a break for the fan. Reggie hurled the nozzle, but Banjo jumped over it and onto the fan grate, sailing up to the safety of the rooftop. Grabbing the last Gruntbot he could find, Banjo chucked it with all his strength down onto Reggie's head. A loud clunk was heard as it smashed apart.

"D'oh!" he grunted as he stumbled. He spun around once, and then fell onto his back with a great thud. Banjo glided down next to him. Without getting up, Reggie grumbled quietly.

"Th' witch don' pay me enough fer this…"

"I've found anyone that works with Gruntilda usually ends up like this," Banjo said with a nod. "Why not just quit?"

Reggie sat up and scratched his head.

"Well, it ain't like I havn't thought 'bout it b'fore. As ornery as th' hag is I still wonder 'bout wha' she'd do t' me if'n she found me out, were I t'quit m'duties 'n whatnot." At this he stood up and shook his head. "Yer a strong 'lil fella, I'll give ya tha' much. I ain't done with ya tho', not by a longshot…" A few Gruntweeds sprouted up beneath him and grew up to the rooftops, where Reggie ran off and out of sight. The evil plants covering the exit point shriveled up and vanished, leaving behind a Jiggy. Banjo stuffed it in his backpack and sighed.

"At least I got something out of all of this. I'd best be getting back to the others."

* * *

**A/N: Another of my original characters is introduced in this chapter. Reggie belongs to me just as Gadget and Gizmo do, please do not use any of them in any way without asking for permission.**

**Nothing much else to say about this one. I had fun with it and tried to make it a bit longer than the others to make up for taking so long in writing it.  
**


	11. Finicky, Fun Seeking Feline: Piddles

Finicky, Fun-seeking Feline: Piddles

"So what do you think Grunty is up to with all this crazy stuff?" Kazooie asked, poking Mumbo with her wing. He spun his wand through his fingers absentmindedly as he thought.

"Hard to tell. Witch not very bright sometimes, could be anything."

Kazooie put a wing to her chin and thought. Everything that Gruntilda had been doing and had set up seemed fairly harmless, as it was technically being kept within the confines of her lair. She had made no indication of doing any harm to Spiral Mountain or the inhabitants of the Isle 'O Hags. In fact, there was no indication of any wrongdoing outside of the current area.

Banjo came meandering back through the wall looking a bit worn out.

"What happened to you?" Kazooie asked, looking him over. "You look like Grunty sat on you or something." Banjo shook his head, dismissing the question without answering.

"Here, I found this. Maybe we can use it for something," Banjo said as he removed the Jiggy from his backpack. Kazooie took its place and snatched it back up.

"Where are we supposed to go now? This place is huge, and it all looks relatively the same," Banjo asked, shielding his eyes as he looked to the sky. "When we came in, there was a door with a Jiggy shaped keyhole. Should we be looking for something similar around here?"

"Grunty is consistent at least, so it's possible. I mean, look at her track record; once she lost, she kept at it every time!" Kazooie laughed. Mumbo was keeping quiet, staring down at the ground with a look of concentration on his face. "Hey, bonehead, what's with the staring contest with the floor?" Ignoring the comment, Mumbo spoke.

"Mumbo have idea, but may or may not work. Will need Jiggy and some space." Banjo and Kazooie looked confused.

"What do you need the Jiggy for?"

"Set Jiggy on ground and step back. Mumbo will show you. If it works, new spell we have for use."

Banjo shrugged and removed the Jiggy from his pack before placing it down on the ground. He stepped out of the way, curious what the shaman was up to.

As Mumbo began his chant and dance, an array of multicolored sparkles began to envelope the Jiggy. It rose into the air, spinning ever so slowly. Once it reached a high enough point, it began to glow. Overhead, off in the distance, a few balls of light began to form as if revealing the location of something. Before anyone could comment, a nearby speaker screeched for a moment before a voice took over.

"_Hey there you, that's almost cheating! Stop at once or face a beating!"_

Mumbo's spell began to falter, and the puzzle piece above started to spin around faster. Mumbo's bag containing the Glowbo let off a large puff of pink smoke, knocking the shaman backwards. At this, the Jiggy was sent flying in a random direction.

"_That's what you get for trying shortcuts, do that again and I'll whup your butts!"_

Kazooie smacked her head with her wing in disapproval.

"Great, now we don't have the Jiggy _and_ we're lost. Nice going, skull boy." Mumbo got up and dusted himself off, an embarrassed look on his face. Banjo just shook his head.

"It's not his fault, Kazooie. Besides, I think I saw it go in that general direction…" he said as he pointed down what appeared to be another alleyway.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get going before Mumbo loses his staff too," Kazooie remarked, mildly annoyed. Mumbo sighed and lowered his head a bit.

* * *

Shaking her head in annoyance, Gruntilda turned a few knobs on her monitor display and the image of Banjo and friends cut out to a blank screen.

"Antics from those stupid fools, they have no respect for rules! Trying to take the easy way out, I'll put them in their place, no doubt!" As Gruntilda ranted on, Piddle stretched out on a nearby metal crate, half listening.

"Purr…You talk a big talk, witch. What are you going to do to carry out your threats? Do you even have a goal in mind?" the purple cat questioned, a bored expression on her face. Turning to look at her partner, Gruntilda opened her mouth to say something. After a few moments, she glanced around as if thinking of a response. Finding nothing to answer with, she simply grunted and folded her arms together.

"Of course I have a plan, furball. When it's time, I'll show them all! Spiral Mountain is all well and good, eventually it will be mine like it should. My old lair is still in repair, with renovations for that bird and bear." Gruntilda walked over to an opening that acted as a glassless window and looked out from her current location. Stationed high up inside a tall skyscraper, a vast expanse of the empty buildings below could be seen. All around, her mindless Gruntbots roamed the streets, occasionally running into each other.

"I have my reasons and my methods, in the end I'll have their heads!" she proclaimed, slamming her boney fist on the window ledge. Piddles hopped up next to her, sharing the view. A few moments of silence followed before Piddles let out a sigh.

"I feel restless. I think I'm going to go have a bit of fun," she said slyly. At this, she leaped off onto the floor and scurried away. Gruntilda watched her leave and yelled after her.

"Have your laughs, but return when you're done, I'm not letting you have all the fun!"

* * *

As they were walking, the buildings around the trio seemed to almost be closing in on them. None of them spoke, and there was a silence that seemed almost inappropriate to break. The path they were on seemed to be turning into a long alleyway with the walls getting narrower.

Upon reaching the end of the pathway, there was nothing but a tall wall with a small hole in the bottom. Banjo was the first to break the silence.

"Well now, what do you make of this?" Kazooie stared down at the hole and frowned.

"That's just great, we hit a dead end. What are we supposed to do here?" Mumbo wandered over and poked his staff through the hole.

"Small passage, but not dead end. Hole leads to other side of wall."

"None of us are going to fit through there, Mumbo," Banjo said, tilting his head a little. "Unless…"

"Unless what?" Kazooie asked. Banjo was about to respond when a screen on the side of one of the walls suddenly beeped and turned into static, causing everyone to jump in surprise. A familiar voice came from the screen.

"Is this thing functioning? Hello? Testing… One, two…"

"Mr. Gadget?" Banjo asked, poking the screen a bit. "Is that you?" The static remained, and the voice became slightly distorted.

"Ah, Banjo! So it is working after all. I was worried this wouldn't reach you. You look like you're in a bind there. Use these, they might come in handy for your situation." When he had finished speaking, a panel opened up in the ground and was raised to the surface, revealing another pair of Split Up pads.

Once this had been done, the signal seemed to be cut off completely, as the screen faded out to nothingness just as quickly as it had come on. Banjo smiled as he looked at the new pads before them.

"That sure was convenient. This is that 'unless' I was going to say, Kazooie. I have an idea." He stood on the pad with his face on it and Kazooie hopped out, taking her place on hers. Banjo wandered over to the hole and used pulled his now empty backpack over his head, compressing his size just enough to be able to squeeze through the opening. It was a tight fit, but after much wiggling and twisting, he popped out the other side.

Removing his backpack and placing it back where it belonged, Banjo took a look around. The new area appeared to be surrounded by a circular wall covered by a dome shaped glass ceiling. An open door was stationed at the other side, inviting him to venture further.

The room was decent sized, so Banjo ran across to the door. His footsteps clunked along the metal tiles as he ran. Just as he was about to pass through the door, another voice came from behind him.

"Ah ah ah… Not so fast, bear." A wall of red, pulsating energy appeared in front of the door, blocking his access. Sliding to a stop, he turned around to face whoever had spoken.

Sitting in front of the opening where he had just come from, Piddles eyeballed him carefully. Her tail swished ever so slightly now and then, a playful grin plastered on her face.

"Piddles? What are you doing here?" Banjo asked with a confused look. She stretched and stood on all fours, purring audibly.

"Mreow… I'm just here to have a little fun, bear boy. It's tiresome simply waiting and watching. Come now, humor me. If you don't, I'll just have to play with you like a toy until you break…"

Piddles ran over near Banjo and reared back, the fur down her spine standing on end. She lunged forward with a bite, causing Banjo to leap out of the way. Another bite followed in quick succession, and as Banjo dodged again a third one was on the way. Being unable to move in time, the last bite connected and Banjo yelped.

Trying to retaliate, he swung his pack around, but Piddles backflipped out of the way and ran off. Shaking off the bite, Banjo watched her carefully. Her movements were seemingly random, but fairly slow. He ran over and attempted to attack with his backpack once more, but she pulled a repeat move and backflipped out of harm's way before scurrying off again.

Banjo stood still and waited. If he could get her to come to him, he might have a chance. Piddles charged and again reared back, preparing to strike. Before she could, however, Banjo finally connected a hit and whacked her away with his backpack. Screeching, she rolled away and quickly got up on her feet.

"Hisssss… Didn't hurt." She shook herself off and moved around in a zigzag pattern, making Banjo have trouble keeping up with her movements. She wound up behind him and swiped her claws at his back, causing him to stumble forward. The deed being done, she flipped away and went back to her normal, slower movements. Banjo shook his head and regained his composure.

He took a chance and ran for her, but didn't take a swing. Sure enough, when he got to a certain distance, Piddles defensively flipped away. Chasing after her quickly, he made his move and knocked her out of the air and into the wall. She screeched again and slid to the floor, but quickly jumped up.

'Hisssss… You're ruining my fun." She began to run around the edge of the room, slowly at first, but picked up speed after a few moments. After picking up enough speed, Piddles began to slowly move onto and up the wall, running along it as easily as she would the floor. Banjo tried to keep an eye on her, but having her circle around him was making him dizzy.

Taking advantage of this, Piddles leaped off the wall at a great speed and swiped at Banjo before bouncing back onto the wall and continuing her run. Banjo was knocked onto the ground by the impact, and struggled to get to his feet. Piddles was unrelenting, however, and jumped after him once more. He rolled out of the way and she landed on the ground, sliding into the wall on the other side.

As she collided with it, she was momentarily stunned. Noticing this, Banjo quickly made his way over and smacked her good, right into the wall at close range. Screeching again, Piddles rolled to the center of the room and struggled to her feet.

"Hisssss… Toys aren't supposed to fight back. You don't know how to play." She ruffled her fur up and made a huff noise. "I'll be back for you later. I'll have my play time again, bear boy." Piddles ran towards the door as the wall of energy faded away. Behind Banjo, the wall that he had entered from crumbled and busted apart, making another doorway.

Breathing a deep sigh, he made his way back to the entrance. He may have been a bit banged up, but at least now they had a way to venture forward.

Crawling back into the tower lair, Piddles laid on the floor with a sigh.

"What's wrong cat, you look beaten, did you get floored by that furry cretin?"

"Oh, shut up you hag," Piddles groaned.

"That's what you get for being in a hurry, next time think before you scurry!"

* * *

**A/N: Yeah, I know this one took a while to put up. Life got to me and my writer's block wouldn't go away. I apologize to the few, if any, viewers I had and/or still have. To compensate for waiting time, I tried to make this chapter longer. I can't guarantee I'll be able to keep going with this story, my writer's block has been _very_ aggressive lately... Also I wrote this while I was tired, so pardon if there are any mistakes.  
**

**Either way, I hope this one is good enough.**


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